Decorative fabric



March 15, 1932. w. H. LEEs 1,849,747

' DECORATIVE FABRIC Filed Feb. 12, 1931 Recs/vim r call/z 0J5 77 IN.VENT' P. WM 6? Patented Mar. 15, 1932 WILLIAM H. LEES, OF LOWELL,MASSACHUSETTS DECORATIVE FABRIC Application filed February 12, 1931.Serial No. 515,263.

This invention relates to a lustrous decorative fabric.

The object of the invention is to provide a novel and improved lustrousfabric for geng eral decorative purposes which may be economically made,is strong and durable, and possesses a distinctive and novel appearance,which makes it particularly useful and valuable for general decorativepurposes, and particularly in ribbon form for fancy tying.

WVith this object in view, and such others as may hereinafter appear,the invention consists in the lustrous decorative fabric hereinafterdescribed and particularly defined in the claims at the end of thisspecification.

In the drawing I have illustrated the invention as embodied in adecorative lustrous ribbon.

In general the present invention contemplates a fabric embodying stripsof transparent lustrous material preferably comprising the cellulosicmaterial of the type known as regenerated cellulose. In producing thepresent fabric flat strips of the transparent material either alone orcombined with opaque or translucent strips in any of the differentcolors, including white or black, may and preferably will be utilized asthe warp of a woven fabric and the filling may comprise any desiredmaterial such as silk, rayon, or cotton thread. The transparent stripspreferably comprising strips of regenerated cellulose may also becombined with tinsel in anyof the difierent colors or forms there of, toproduce a variety of novel lustrous fabrics in which the transparencyand inherent luster of the regenerated cellulose or equivalenttransparent lustrous material supplements the brilliance of the tinselto set off the same and to produce novel and most attractive andvaluable decorative fabrics. The colored transparent strips ofregenerated cellulose as well as the colorless transparent strips, willbe light-transmitting and lightreflecting and will have greaterlight-transmitting properties than more highly colored transparent,translucent, or opaque strips of regenerated cellulose or tinsel strips,and

when combined as above described, will by their contrasting propertiesproduce an unusual and attractive fabric. seen that the use of colorlesstransparent strips with substantially non-transparent strips such as themore highly colored transparent, translucent, or opaque strips ofregenerated cellulose or the tinsel strips, will give the same effect.

Referring now to the drawing, which as above stated illustrates thepreferred embodiment of the invention, 10 represents a woven fabric ofany desired width, herein shown for illustrative purposes as comprisinga ribbon or narrow fabric. The fabric 10 is herein shown as made up ofwarp strands l2 and weft threads 13. The warp strands 12 are hereinshown as comprising a plurality of transparent strips 15 of regeneratedcellulose or equivalent material and brilliant metallic or coloredtinsel strips 16. If desired, the tinsel strips 15 may be omitted andregenerated cellulose alone used, according -to the effect desired to beproduced. The regenerated cellulose strips 15 with or without the tinselstrips 16 are woven with a weft 13 comprising any suitable fillingmaterial, such for example as a silk, cotton or rayon thread to producethe fabric. It is preferred to weave the weft in and out at a relativelysmall number of picks to the inch, in order that the weft may be spacedapart, as illustrated in the drawing.

For the production of narrow fabrics utilized as decorative ribbons forgeneral fancy tying purposes, the regenerated cellulose strips may beused in widths approximately one-sixteenth inch, and are preferablywoven in the form of flat strips so that the fiat regenerated cellulosestrips may impart to the fabric a maximum luster and transparent effect.The weaving operation may be performed upon narrow fabric looms of knownconstruction in accordance with the usual practice followed in producingtinsel ribbon.

The regenerated cellulose strips 15 may be colorless so as to impart tothe ribbon merely a lustrous effect, or they may themselves be colored,and in the fabric the joints between the sides of adjacent strips of theregenerated cellulose are visible only upon relatively close examinationso Also it can be that when viewed from a distance the regenwarp stripsbetween said weftthreads form erated cellulose appears as a transparentsheet, and when combined with tinsel, and particularly colored tinsel,the transparency of the regenerated cellulose strips imparts theappearance to the fabric of a plurality of the tinsel strips alone,presenting an un usual, distinctive, and pleasing appearance. Theregenerated cellulose strips possess a high degree of luster andcontribute to the brilliance of the fabric.

lVhile it is preferred to utilize transparent material of the type knownas regenerated facets.

individual light-reflectin have signed my In testimony whereof name tothis specification.

WILLIAM H. LEES.

cellulose, nevertheless viewed in the broader aspects of the inventionother transparent lustrous material of an equivalent nature may be used.

\Vhile the preferred embodiment of the invention has been hereinillustrated and de scribed, it will be understood that the invention maybe embodied in other forms within the scope of the following claims.

Having thus described the invention, What is claimed is 1. A lustrous,decorative fabric comprising as a warp a set of flat, thin, decorativenon-transparent strips, and another set of thin, fiat strips oftransparent regenerated cellulose,-said fabric havingstrips of one setof warp strips interposed between strips of the other set, and havingthin, weft threads whereby adjacent warp strips are positioned closetogether and substantially in the same plane, said weft threads beingspaced relatively far apart whereby the surfaces of the portions of saidwarp strips between said weft threads form individual light-reflectingfacets.

2. A lustrous, decorative fabric comprising as a warp aset of flat, thintinsel strips and a set of-fiat,-thin strips 'of transparent,regenerated cellulose, said fabric having strips of one set of warpstrips interposed between strips of the other set, and having thin, weftthreads whereby adjacent warp strips are positioned close together andsubstantially in the same plane, said weft threads being spacedrelatively far apart whereby the surfaces of the portions of said warpstrips between said weft threads form individual light-reflectingfacets.

3. A lustrous, decorative fabric comprising as a warp a plurality ofsets of thin, fiat, light-reflecting strips, one of said sets beingcomposed of thin, flat strips of non-transparent regenerated celluloseand another set composed of transparent regenerated cellulose, saidfabric having strips of one set interposed between strips of the otherset and having thin, weft threads whereby adjacent warp strips arepositioned close together and substantially in the same plane, said weftthreads being spaced relatively far apart whereby the surfaces of theportions of said

